NBC and ABC on Thursday night framed stories around concerns of
“abortion rights” advocates who want proof Supreme Court nominee Sonia
Sotomayor is on their side, but both cloaked their pieces around the
proposition “both sides” of the debate are equally worried.

With “Where Does She Stand?” as the on-screen heading, as if
there is genuine belief Obama would have selected the judge without
knowing she'd uphold Roe v Wade, NBC anchor Lester Holt set up a story
through the prism of pro-abortion activists as he announced that White
House “spokesman Robert Gibbs says the President did not specifically
ask her about the right to privacy, a key issue in the abortion
debate.” Reporter Pete Williams proceeded to declare that Sotomayor's stand on abortion is “a mystery”
as “both sides on the abortion issue agree...they're eager to know
exactly what Sonia Sotomayor thinks about abortion and the
constitution.” Viewers then heard only from one side, an “abortion
rights advocate.”

Charles Gibson, with “Choosing Sides” as the tag on the screen,
teased the lead World News story: “Both sides of the abortion debate
demand to know where the President's Supreme Court pick stands on the
issue.” Like Holt, ABC's Jan Crawford Greenburg highlighted what
concerns those on the left, how “Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said
Obama didn't discuss specific cases with Sotomayor, but was satisfied
with her views on individual rights.” After a clip of Gibbs'
reassurance to pro-abortion supporters -- “He left very comfortable
with her interpretation of the constitution being similar to that of
his” -- Greenburg concluded by echoing the fears of those who
consider Roe v Wade sacrosanct: “But Sotomayor's record on abortion has
yet to bear that out.”

Unlike ABC ad NBC, the Fox News Channel delivered the concerns of
those on the right, as Special Report anchor Bret Baier introduced a
story on how Sotomayor's “paper trail has many Second
Amendment-boosters worried.” Reporter Shannon Bream explained:

The Supreme Court has ruled definitively that the
Second Amendment does guarantee gun ownership rights to individuals,
but some gun rights advocates worry that Supreme Court nominee, Judge
Sonia Sotomayor, may see things differently. Just months after the high
court's June 2008 District of Columbia v Heller decision, Sotomayor
signed on to one from the 2nd circuit ruling saying that states still
maintain the right to regulate gun ownership...

The beginning of the story on the Thursday, May 28 NBC Nightly News:

LESTER HOLT: The White House said today President Obama
is very comfortable that Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor
shares his interpretation of the constitution. But spokesman Robert
Gibbs says the President did not specifically ask her about the right
to privacy, a key issue in the abortion debate.

PETE WILLIAMS: Ever since the Supreme Court decided Roe versus Wade
36 years ago, a nominee's view on abortion has been the dominant issue,
but with this nominee, it's a mystery. Both sides on the abortion issue
agree on this, they're eager to know exactly what Sonia Sotomayor
thinks about abortion and the constitution.

NANCY NORTHRUP, ABORTION RIGHTS ADVOCATE: It is important that we
not have a guessing game when we're talking about a justice who's going
to take a seat on a court that was 5-4 in its last abortion decisions.

ABC's World News:

JAN
CRAWFORD GREENBERG: In this battle over Sotomayor's nomination, there
appears to be unusual common ground on one of the nation's most
divisive issues. On abortion, both sides in the contentious debate want
to know more.

CHARMAINE YOEST, AMERICANS UNITED FOR LIFE: We need to know what her
philosophy is and how she would approach a case if it came before her.

GREENBURG: In her eleven years as a federal appeals court judge,
Sotomayor has never ruled directly on abortion rights. Her cases
touched only on side issues in the broader abortion debate. That leaves
both sides looking for clues...

Although her views on abortion are not known, some anti-abortion groups assume she would vote to uphold Roe versus Wade....

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama didn't discuss specific
cases with Sotomayor, but was satisfied with her views on individual
rights.

GIBBS: He left very comfortable with her interpretation of the constitution being similar to that of his.

GREENBURG: But Sotomayor's record on abortion has yet to bear that out.

— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center